Roy Harper (DC)

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Roy Harper as Arsenal in Red Hood and the Outlaws v1 #23.

Roy Harper is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.

Contents

Biography

Pre-Crisis

As Red Arrow from Justice League of America v2 #11.

Roy Harper, Junior. was the son of Roy Harper, Senior who was a forest ranger and stated that he never knew his mother nor did he know her name. He was raised by his father though Roy Harper, Senior would die whilst saving members of a Navajo reservation from a major fire when his son was two years old. A shaman from the tribe known as Brave Bow would take in the young Harper in gratitude for the actions and sacrifice made by his father. Under Brave Bow's tutelage, Roy was raised as a traditional Navajo as a member of the 'Tachini' tribe.

He was on a plane with his father when an incident caused it to crash into Lost Mesa. Only Roy and his father's Indian servant Quoag survived where they were far from civilisation. A first in shock, he came to terms with the death of his father where he and Quoag both tried to survive. This saw Roy learning to use a bow and arrow in order to hunt for food. For years, the pair remained there until a passing plane arrived at the scene headed by Oliver Queen who came to save the stranded pair. (More Fun Comics v1 #89)

After his father died, the Sioux archer Brave Bow had made a promise to look after the man's infant son. (Adventure Comics v1 #262)

Afterwards, he and Green Arrow received a public challenge from a mysterious criminal mastermind called the Hand. He bade seven heroes to gather together with these being Vigilante, Crimson Avenger, Shining Knight, the Star-Spangled Kid, and Stripesy. Each were set to fight one of their respective villains that the Hand had recently freed from prison and made their lieutenant. Green Arrow and Speedy went in pursuit of Professor Merlin who was operating in Death Valley where the villain looked to steal the gold of Old Cactus Mike. For this task, Merlin had intended to use a cold machine to kill the man but was thwarted by the Green Arrow. He then joined the other heroes who had similarly completed their assignments where Sir Justin suggested that they make a permanent superhero team together where they came to be known as the Seven Soldiers of Victory. (Leading Comics v1 #1)

Post-Crisis

Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

Speedy

Arsenal

As Arsenal from New Teen Titans v2 #99.

In the aftermath, he was no longer a member of the CBI or the Teen Titans and was still estranged from Oliver Queen. He would struggle to find a place in the world in this time and decided to relocate to Los Angeles. Once there, he attempted to start a career as a private investigator and assisted the latest incarnation of the Titans on several occasions but would decline to rejoin them as a member. He would eventually forge a working relationship with CBI and its successor organization in Checkmate. Around this time, the Titans were being hunted by the Wildebeest Society that was being led by Jericho. This crisis led to the team being shattered and reforming after Titans Tower along with their headquarters being destroyed. In this time, the Teen Titans were mistrusted by the government though Harper would make a deal with Sarge Steel to become the team's leader with them being officially supervised as well as sanctioned. Nightwing would voluntarily step down as leader with Roy Harper taking the place where he abandoned the identity of Speedy and instead made a new identity as Arsenal who started using hi-tech weapons made by Steve Dayton. For a time, he would operate in the new costume though he would abandon it in favor of a more streamlined one but would keep the new name along with leadership of the Teen Titans. However, the team would suffer from a lack of commitment from its various members but was dissolved once again. Though estranged from his mentor, Arsenal would use this time to re-open a dialog with his mentor Oliver Queen with the two forgiving one another but this reconciliation would be short lived as Oliver Queen would die in an airplane explosion shortly afterwards.

Three months later, he approached Nightwing with the idea of forming a new incarnation of the Outsiders though Grayson refused as he could not bear seeing his friends die. Roy then suggested that they recruit people they did not know and avoid emotional attachments. Harper then recruited Thunder, Grace Choi, Metamorpho and Indigo to be part of the team. (Outsiders v3 #1)

He recovered from the injuries but he was psychologically affected from the near-death experience. This saw him spent sometime with his daughter Lian, he later slept with Grace Choi and then did a training session with Grayson only to struggle when a gun was pointed at him. Harper confessed feeling like a liability as he now worried about dying and leaving his daughter alone in the world but Nightwing reassured him that he trusted Arsenal by his side. (Outsiders v3 #11)

Red Arrow

He was then formally invited into the new incarnation of the Justice League of America where he took on a new name as Red Arrow with both Black Canary and Hal Jordan being proud of him. (Justice League of America v2 #7)

Roy was present for the meeting on the Justice League Watchtower regarding Prometheus' plan but briefly stepped out of the room to call his daughter Lian and wish her goodnight. However, unbeknownst to all the Justice League members, Prometheus had already infiltrated their headquarters and ambushed Roy, beating him senseless and cutting off the hero's arm with a sword. Red Arrow escaped the fight long enough to return to the meeting, collapsing on the ground, as the other League members sprung to his aid. (Justice League: Cry for Justice v1 #5)

Harper later woke up screaming to find himself in a hospital bed in S.T.A.R. Labs where he was surrounded by his friends. They attempted to keep him at ease where they revealed that Prometheus had managed to infiltrate the satellite where he cut off Roy's arm as well as infected the wound with nanomites preventing it from healing. It was then that he was informed that Lian Harper had died during Prometheus's attack on Star City which left Roy distraught at the death of his daughter. (Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal v1 #1)

Still dealing with the death of his daughter, Roy returned to the ruins of Star City wearing his old Arsenal costume and unleashed his rage on a gang of scavengers. While leaping off rooftops, he was haunted by memories of his old drug buddy Corey again. Out of stolen painkillers, Roy gave into his temptation, went to a nearby alleyway, and ultimately relapsed on his heroin addiction. During his high, Roy hallucinated that Lian was still alive. In reality, Roy was still fighting crime, high on heroin. He was discovered by his friend Nightwing, and Dick, realizing the situation, was forced to fight Roy to force him to desist. Once Roy was defeated, Dick brought him to a rehabilitation clinic for his own good. (Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal v1 #3) While in confinement at the rehab center, Roy purposefully hurt himself to alert the paramedics on standby. When they rushed to his aid, he escaped from his cell and made a break from the facility. Roy set his sights on the prison that the Electrocutioner was being held at, wanting revenge on the criminal for his part in Lian's death. Green Arrow managed to catch up to Roy and, having regretted killing Prometheus for senseless revenge, begged Roy to reconsider. However, Roy ignored him, broke into the prison, and cruelly butchered the Electrocutioner with a set of knives. After the murder, Roy returned to his home and burned it down, including all of his possessions. He swore to uphold a deadlier version of justice in the future and reclaimed his title as Arsenal. (Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal v1 #4)

Roy temporarily teamed up with Cheshire with a plan to murder renowned assassin Deathstroke, the man that had infiltrated his Outsiders some time ago. However, Roy apparently double-crossed Cheshire to join Slade's new villainous team of Titans. But, this itself was a double cross, as Roy used the opportunity to get closer to Slade. (Titans v2 #26)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.

It was revealed that in his early vigilante career that he operated under the name Speedy as Green Arrows sidekick. One of their adventures caused them to be catapulted back in time back to the earlier age of mystery men vigilantes. Trapped in that era, they came to operate in their superhero guises where they came to join the Seven Soldiers of Victory and were part of the team though they hid their own past from their comrades. They had many adventures together one of which saw the sad demise of Wing. Later on, they looked to stop a ship carrying Per Degaton's time machine from crashing on the shore filled with innocent bystanders. The Crimson Avenger Lee Travis came to die as he steered he ship away whilst Green Arrow and Speedy came to be sent back into their own time. (Stargirl Spring Break Special v1 #1)

Roy then took Jason to the crashed Tamaranean star cruiser located on an isolated island so that Todd could recover from his injuries. During this time, Harper managed to get a talk with his sponsor Killer Croc through holograms where he realised that he was struggling with his addiction again. Roy decided then to check himself at a superhero rehabilitation centre that had been set up. However, he first took Jason with him to stop a drug shipment that was believed to had been sent by Suzie Su but she was innocent in this case and it was revealed that the culprit was someone in the Underlife. Afterwards, Roy informed Jason that he was going away to get the rehabilitation that he needed but the pair remained close friends as the Red Hood went on his own path. (Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual v2 #2)

Overview

Personality and attributes

After joining the Justice League of America, he adopted a new code name as Red Arrow with him regarding it as a family name for the family business. (Justice League of America v2 #7)

After being shot in the chest, Roy survived a near-death experience but he was psychologically affected as he became more afraid thus affecting his ability to operate as a superhero. He could only focus on the risks with the possibility of dying and leaving his daughter alone in the world. (Outsiders v3 #11)

It was noted that his father had been a ranger. (Adventure Comics v1 #262)

His father once had an Indian servant named Quoag who was a close friend to Roy. (More Fun Comics v1 #89)

Another important figure in his life was Chief Brave Bow who became a teacher to Roy. The man was responsible for raising the infant Roy after the death of his father. This stemmed from a debt he owed to Roy Harper, Sr. after risked his life to save Brave Bow from a forest fire. The man was regarded as the best archer in the whole Sioux tribe. It was noted that he was a perfectionist who could not be satisfied unless his student got 100/100. He had said that he had raised Roy as if he was his own son. (Adventure Comics v1 #262)

She was shown to had been attracted to Roy Harper with this being mutual between the pair leading to the two sleeping with one another. (Justice League of America v2 #12)

Roy was shown to have had a sexual relationship with Grace Choi during their years together with them simply sleeping with one another and not engaged in a romantic relationship. (Outsiders v3 #11)

He kept a picture of Lian in his quiver so that he could always look at his daughter when on a mission. (Justice League of America v2 #11)

Powers and abilities

As a young man, he won a 100 yard dash in record time. (Adventure Comics v1 #262)

He came to learn archery after being stranded in the wilderness and having to hunt to survive. (More Fun Comics v1 #89) When he was a little boy, he came to be trained in the art of the bow and arrow by Chief Brave Arrow. (Adventure Comics v1 #262)

After Prometheus cut off his right arm, Harper came to get a special cybernetic prosthetic that was provided by Cyborg. (Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal v1 #2)

Notes

  • Roy Harper was created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp where he made his debut as Speedy in More Fun Comics v1 #73 (November, 1941).

Alternate Versions

  • In Flash Forward v1 #2 (2019), an alternate version of Roy Harper as shown to exist on Earth-43 in the Multiverse. This version lived on a world where the Justice League of Vampires formed after Batman became one of the undead in order to defeat Dracula. They began to prey on humans with Roy becoming a vampire hunter where he stopped the vampiric superheroes. During this time, he encountered a Multiverse-travelling Wally West where he helped him on his mission but was later killed by the vampire Batman.

In other media

Television

  • In Teen Titans, Speedy appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Mike Erwin.
  • In Justice League Unlimited, the character made an appearance in the episode "Patriot Act" where he was voiced by actor Mike Erwin. He was referred to a an ex-partner of Oliver Queen though Green Arrow would call him an ex-sidekick. Speedy was called to Earth's surface to help aid Green Arrow along with his team mates who were in a fight with the transformed Wade Eiling. His design resembled an older better built version of his Teen Titans incarnation with his appearance in this episode being a homage to the original Seven Soldiers of Victory.
  • In Arrow, Roy Harper appeared in the live-action Arrowverse television series starting in the episode "Dodger" where he was portrayed by actor Colton Haynes. He was shown as a teenager that operated as a thief in Starling City which he did so to help pay for his mothers medical bills after she became addicted to the drug Vertigo. As a result, he claimed he was forced to steal to help her as she was badly affected from the drug habit. One of his thefts included stealing from Thea Queen when she was talking with Laurel Lance but after running Thea managed to track him down where Quentin Lance arrested him. However, after hearing the reason for the thefts, Thea decided not to press any charges against him.
  • In Young Justice, Roy Harper appeared in the animated series where he was portrayed by actor Crispin Freeman.

Films

  • In Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Speedy appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced again by actor Crispin Freeman.
  • In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Roy Harper made a cameo appearance in the setting of the animated film.

Video Games

  • In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Roy Harper appeared as Red Arrow in the alternate One Earth Regime world in the Green Arrow ending.

Appearances

  • More Fun Comics v1: (1941)
  • Adventure Comics v1:
  • Leading Comics v1:
  • Teen Titans v1:
  • Titans:
  • Outsiders v3:
  • Justice League of America v2:
  • Justice League: The Rise of Arsenal v1:
  • Red Hood and the Outlaws v1:
  • Red Hood and the Outlaws Annual v2:
  • Heroes in Crisis v1:
  • Infinite Frontier v1:
  • Stargirl Spring Break Special v1:

External Links

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